The tide stands still as we await the longest race in Extravaganza. The points leader is on the pole, while his former counterpart Johnny Reed Foley looks to break out of his top-5 slump and win the Coca-Cola 600 for his title sponsor. Steven Spears pulls off a miracle 5th place qualifying lap in one of the four biggest races of the Extravaganza Season.
The 46-car field went green just after dusk with Tim McDonnell leading the first lap. The R2W teammates rampaged to the front early, earning that early momentum in hopes of more glory at a racetrack that's been good to them in the past.
John Battista led 29 laps duing the first long green flag run after the R2W cars got tight as the track cooled down. Ryan Heuser pulled off a miracle run, going from 24th to 1st in only 47 laps. He would lead through green flag pit stops and past lap 100.
The big crash of the night occurred early in the going. Teammates Zakk Miller and Steven Spears made contact in turn-3 battling for 23rd spot. Spears was pile-driven by the Matthew Dominique machine, ending both nights on impact. The Mello Yello machine slid down the track and into Bink Lucas. Dominique locked the brakes in the racing groove, leaving Scott Drake no room to pass the crash. He went barrell-rolling twice off of turn-4 after another hard impact from Dan Johnston. All drivers were uninjured in the accident. Drake, Lucas, Dominique, Spears, Johnston and Scott Deutsch all dropped out of the race due to the incident.
The race leader was involved in the accident. Heuser made light contact with the #89 car and got spun from behind from Mark Murphy. He tapped slid towards the outside wall and grazed it with the drivers-side door with hardly any damage. An immaculate job of saving the racecar under duress, he would only drop four positions in the pits and contend for the win still. Johnny Reed Foley became the new leader.
Foley led the next 40 laps with drafting help from lapped-driver Dave Miller. Heuser flew by with a mission on hand, as he and Tony Pizzaro swapped the lead several times during the half-way stretch.
Through lap 340, Heuser and Bill Wekheiser had pulled to an extreme advantage over the field. Each took turns at leading the event as they managed through traffic, with points leader Tim McDonnell looking like the fastest car on the racetrack in third. Heuser would lead 202 laps, on the day, with Bill finishing at 67.
High Octane Racing endured their woes during the event. Three seperate spins off of turn-2 solidified it's status as "calamity corner" in 2021. Both Mike Carroll and Dan Johnston would finish outside the top-34. Rick Jackson and Kevin Corbat ended the day 29th and 30th.
Ryan Heuser found the speed after coming out behind Bill during the final green-flag stop. Heuser got loose and turned Werkheiser into the outside wall. Bill kept trucking with minimal right-side damage while Heuser made a miraculous save through the road-course infield. #138 would be the leader withing the next lap, while Bill dropped out of contention.
Scott Jackson was four seconds behind in second when Steven Spears went for a wild-ride in the infield. He flew up into Randy Dobbins, causing a four-car pile-up involving teammate Zakk Miller and Jaxon Vaccher. This would commence a 12-lap dash to the finish.
Heuser pulled away by nearly a half-second early. Jackson's car found speed just a couple of laps shy, running down the "rocket man" and finishing under two car-lengths behind to the flag. Heuser would tie John Battista with most victories on the season with three heading towards the half-way stretch in 2021. Congrats to Ryan, cre
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Points leader Tim McDonnell is on the pole. He has to run 400 more laps on Tuesday to complete his 14th-straight race of completing every lap in 2021. The gutsy change from Honda to Volkswagen after his 2019 championship campaign has proven to be the correct choice. Look for Tim to be one of the favorites to win the Coca-Cola 600.
2021 has been a Chevrolet dominated season. The bow-tie guys have won 10 of 13 races, and occupy 6 of the top-8 spots in the points standings. Despite this, the top-2 in the standings are a Volkswagen and Ford. Conventional Fords, Dodges and Volkswagens have won zero events all year, leaving concerns for the #22, #12, Team Danger Zone and PHR teams. Some argue that the lower attrition rates of the Chevrolet's compared to the top-2 in points make up the difference. Quantum Racing begs to differ. "The Viper engines have been the quality of brand-name cream cheese" says Matthew Dominique, who is currently 15th in points, over 100 behind the cutoff. Here are the only two drivers to win in a non-chevrolet:
Matt Raboin (Viper):Bristol, Martinsville Mark Murphy (Mustang):Dover
Halfway through the regular season, usual contenders are falling behind in chase pace, while newer names are gaining ground. Jimmie Stevens finds himself 139 points ahead of the cutoff. This time last year he was 20th. Cristian Torres has dropped from 11th to 31st in the standings this season, hoping to re-gain his confidence starting at Charlotte. Zakk Miller has gained the most since 36 races ago, going from 31st to 13th in the standings with the higher-attrition Danger Zone engines.
22 drivers gear up for one of the biggest events in all of Extravaganza: The annual N.O.R.L. Extravaganza Series All-Star Race. Alan Nesfeder and Rick Jackson have won the last two, and they are both in the field today. On the pole is the #3 race favorite Tony Pizzaro. On the outside is the Shootout King Johnny Reed Foley. They will be a heavy front-row blockade for the other 20 drivers to endure for the 100 lap feature. $10 million dollars are on the line tonight!
Early in the 100-lap feature saw Adam Crapser go for a wild spin in a battle for last place. Once the field got settled, it was John Battista and Tony Pizzaro going for broke up front.
Rob Scarberry went for a frontstretch spin to bring out the second caution early. In the aftermath of the restart, Battista would lose the lead to Matthew Dominique as the rest rampaged behind.
The three drivers involved in the previous two cautions were all involved in the third. It was not the Cinderella story for Rob, Adam or Randy. Dominiwue and Battista would lose the lead under yellow flag stops.
Three-wide action for the lead saw the R2W teammates on the bottom, sneaking through the inside to take the #1 and #2 positions. From behind, Zach Michael and the race-sponsor #20 pulverized through the traffic to take the All-Star Race lead after halfway.
The Team Danger Zone cars seemed to have the advantage late, as Michael and Mark Murphy flew by the Race-2-Win brigade to take the 1-2 spots in the event. Dave Miller flew from outside of the top-10 to take a top-3 spot as well. Early leaders Battista and Dominique could not advance into the top-10 despite their tire advantage.
Zach Michael led the final 45 laps as the race stayed green for the entire second-half of the race. It was a Team Danger Zone 1-2 finish for the second time in two weeks, looking to build momentum for the second half of the season. Congrats to Zach, crew chief Justin Knapp, and the entire Team Danger Zone crew for an excellent All-Star Race victory!
There are some huge names in All-Star Qualifier #2. Jimmie Stevens, John Tharp, Ken Pettit and Bill Werkheiser all have excellent speedway horsepower, capable of winning the big show if they can only advance. Only the top-3 will make it.
Busch Bonanza Series Champion Mark Heron started on the pole at his favorite racetrack. He faired well, though it took very little time for John Tharp to fly by for the lead and bring some of the rest of the field with him.
With no caution flags, the guys that started near the front were racing for the lead throughout. Bill Werkheiser and Jimmie Stevens made it past the #14 who was battling a loose condition. Bink Lucas found his way to third as the #6 and #2 continued their side-by-side endeavor.
Jimmie Stevens did an excellent job staying up front through most of the 40-lap event, but the field behind took advantage of their tire-saving strategy during the final 10 laps. Speedy banked for a caution that never came, as Ken Pettit and Adam Crapser flew to the top-3 with only 2 laps to go
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Ken Pettit went from 13th to first on only 40 laps to win the second All-Star Qualifier. Adam Crapser and Bill Werkheiser were side-by-side for second, beating Ben Geer to the line by a car-length to advance to the Big Show. Congrats to Ken, Adam and Bill for their All-Star Race birth!
The first qualifier for the 2021 All-Star Race presented some flying colors, including Alan Nesfeder, Zakk Miller, Donald Stewart and William Perry as the favorites to win the event. Only the top-3 will advance. Dan Johnston is on the pole.
Dan Johnston and Alan Nesfeder raced side-by-side during the initial laps. Johnston re-rook the lead early, with Rob Scarberry in tow as the rest of the field battled two and three-wide behind for the third place spot.
Contact between Philip Parker and Zakk Miller off of turn-2 sent the #79 machine into the inside wall to bring out the only caution. Neither would wind up advancing, but looked forward to their qualifying effort for the Coke-600 next week.
Before the caution, Dan and Rob battled for the top-spot with Dan prevailing to the yellow. Unfortunately, a blown tire after hitting debris on the backstretch forced him to pit and put on tires. He would rally from 20th to 4th during the final 10-lap shootout. Up front, Rob Scarberry and Aaron Cummings battled for the win, with Stephen Lowe holding the rest of the field behind to make the Big Show.
Somehow Lowe was able to hold off a fresh-tired Dan Johnston for third and make the show, as Rob Scarberry won the battle to the line to win his first ever Extravaganza event in a long career. Congrats to Rob, Aaron Cummings and Stephen Lowe for making the show!
There have been 16 different winners in the last 36 races. These grand Champions will all compete for Extravaganza All-Star Race glory. Drivers like Scott Jackson and Mark Murphy squeezed their way into the field at the last second, while veterans Ryan Heuser, Rick Jackson and Matthew Dominique endured a year of anticipation. Ken Pettit, Jimmie Stevens and John Tharp will be the favorites to race their way into the show. Thankfully, there will be six bonus entries between two consolation races. Will any of the big names be snubbed? Which entry will be the underdog? We will find out this Tuesday at the great Charlotte Motor Speedway!
All-Star Race Entry List Tim McDonnell: Homestead, 2020
Tony Pizzaro: Phoenix, 2020
John Battista: Talladega, 2021
Craig Lee: Richmond, 2021
Dave Miller: Michigan, 2021
Alex Crapser: Daytona, 2021
Ryan Heuser: Texas, 2021
Matt Raboin: Martintsville, 2021
Rick Jackson: Atlanta, 2021
Zach Michael: Watkins Glen, 2020
Johnny Reed Foley: Las Vegas, 2020
Matthew Dominique: Talladega, 2020
Scott Jackson: Darlington, 2021
Randy Dobbins: Chicagoland, 2020
Mark Murphy: Dover, 2021
Mark Guthrie: Bristol, 2020
Mark Heron has been fired from Old Farts Racing. In a wild counter move, Heron's Bonanza team Can-Bandit Racing has bought the Extravaganza #33 Packdude Racing team. Jack Paynter will no longer be the driver, and the new Can-Bandit Racing team will run part-time in conjunction with the Bonanza Series events. Both Ken Joynt, who is 3rd in Bonanza Series points, and Heron, will run full-time in Bonanza with the expectation of jumping to Extravaganza full-time next season. This is a scary fact for the Bonanza Championship contenders to have Mark Heron ready to re-dominate the series.
Jack Paynter has started 49 Extravaganza Series events. He led his first ever laps at Dover last weekend. Now he is without a ride. Paynter made his first full-time stint in Extravaganza in 2020. The season started out with a promising 7th place finish at Rockingham, and things looked to be on the up. He wound up finishing 33rd in points, with one top-5 at Talladega. This season, his average finish went from 27th to 31st despite an 11th place effort at Dover. The greatest moment of his career was qualifying outside-pole to the great Rick Jackson at Indianapolis. With good high-horsepower qualifying skills, look for Paynter to be back in a top-tier series ride in the near future.
